Footballing Weekly: Man United, Chelsea struggle with no consistent scorer

SINGAPORE — Two weeks into the new English Premier League (EPL) season, and there doesn't seem to be any seismic shifts in the fortunes and tendencies of the various clubs in the league.

Last season's champions Manchester City and runners-up Arsenal have both started well, each winning their opening two matches. Everton, who barely escaped relegation last season, looked resigned to another season of struggle after losing their opening two games.

Liverpool and Newcastle are still dogged by consistency issues, with flaws in their squads yet to be fully addressed before they can launch a convincing title challenge.

Manchester United and Chelsea, on the other hand, have continued to spend lavishly to bolster their squads - yet still find themselves in dire need of a consistent scorer.

The plight of these two teams was evident over the weekend, as Man United looked bereft of ideas in a 0-2 away defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday (19 August), while Chelsea created 17 chances but still lost 1-3 to West Ham a day later.

The lack of clinical finishing will be an unwelcome headache this early in the season for managers Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino.

Red Devils boss ten Hag tried to shoehorn Marcus Rashford in the centre-forward position in hopes of the England international plundering his goals from that advanced position, but it was evident that Rashford's best trait of running at defenders is best utilised when he starts from the wings.

That leaves Man United with very few other choices in the forward position who could be relied on to plunder goals in the league, with the likes of Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Jadon Sancho and new signing Rasmus Hojlund being still too inconsistent.

It is a similar predicament that Chelsea are facing, even after spending nearly £1 billion in new signings since American owner Todd Boehly took over last season. Despite dominating possession against West Ham, Pochettino's side were unable to get any points from their trip across London.

Such profligacy will put the brakes on any hopes of a Chelsea revival this season, and they will need their expensively-assembled strikers such as Nicolas Jackson, Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke to start hitting the target. Ironically, there is a proven scorer in their squad right now, but Romelu Lukaku does not even have a jersey number for this season, having been frozen out.

Still, it is good to see modest teams like Brighton and Brentford continue their winning ways and carrying on from last season's success. Brighton, in particular, looked like a brilliantly-coached side under Robert de Zerbi, taking the early lead atop the EPL table after 4-1 wins against Luton Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

These wins come despite the Seagulls losing their much-vaunted central midfield duo Alex Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo, who moved on to Liverpool and Chelsea respectively. This just shows how deeply Brighton's playing philosophy is embedded in the club, that they could continue to excel without skipping a beat.

So, do all seem as per status quo in the EPL? Or will things change soon? Check out this week's episode of "Footballing Weekly" as our panel discuss the various issues surrounding global football.

Follow the new EPL season with all segments of this week's "Footballing Weekly" show on YouTube. If you wish the hear the show in its entirety, visit the show's Spotify and Acast pages.

For more football news, visit our Football page on Yahoo!

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.